Thursday, December 3, 2009

Jude Law Leases in New York City

LEASEE: Jude LawLESSOR:LOCATION: West 4th Street, New York, NYPRICE: $6,900,000SIZE: 3,498 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathroomsDESCRIPTION: ...Taking full advantage of the structure's 20' vaulted ceilings and original wood timber beams, this immaculately renovated duplex is an unparalleled and rare find downtown. Boasting 3,498+- sf of highly customized interiors with three large bedrooms and two and a half baths, this home presents uncompromising quality at every turn, including hand-troweled white Venetian plastered walls, Brazilian walnut floors, a floating staircase wrapped in chrome, sleek custom closets and a state-of-the-art Crestron system.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Starting way back in our university days, Your Mama has known an unusual amount of people who have made their homes in deconsecrated and converted houses of God. One of those many people is not, however, Oscar nominated actor Jude Law who has lately been leasing a doo-plex penthouse in a former Methodist church in New York City's Greenwich Village that was reborn and transformed into Novare, a lavishly done residential project where the historic and ecclesiastical facade hides the interior spaces of 8 posh, pricey and very contemporary condominiums.

Mister Law's past professional endeavors have included roles in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Talented Mr. Ripley, I Heart Huckabees, Alfie, The Aviator, and All the King's Men. His next films include Rage, in which he portrays a tranny supermodel named Minx, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the last movie Heath Ledger filmed before his untimely death of accidental drug overdose. The British born tabloid favorite has set up temporary digs in downtown Manhattan while he appears to strong reviews in a limited engagement as the tortured Dane in Broadway's latest edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Mister Law's private life is, for better or worse, just about as exciting and interesting as any of the film and stage work he's done. Although Mister Law's ex-gurlfriend, model Samantha Burke, recently became the baby momma to his 4th piglet, he's apparently already moved on or, rather, is revisiting some old stomping grounds. According to recent reports in the tabs and gossip glossies, his former ladee-friend Sienna Miller–with whom he had a torrid and tumultuous affair several years ago–was recently seen exiting his dee-luxe Washington Square apartment house, further fueling rumors that the erstwhile couple are erstwhile no more.

The owner of Mister Law's luxe let, a man named Mark Kress, made his mountain of money largely from lotions, potions and laser treatments for restoring hair where it stopped wanting to grow. We're certain that much can and will be made of the irony of Mister Law having a landlord who pioneered cosmetic hair restoration treatments. We'll leave our two cents at that. Anyhoo, according to the peeps at PropertyShark, Mister Kress purchased the penthouse in June of 2007 for $5,960,000. Property listing aggregator StreetEasy reveals that Mister Kress listed the Greenwich Village aerie in May of 2009 with an asking price of $8,500,000. The penthouse remains for sale but with a significantly slashed but still big-ticket price tag of $6,900,000.

It's unclear–or rather, unknown to Your Mama–what amount of moolah Mister Law is shelling out for the privilege of living in his pro tempore and formerly holy surroundings. However, a much smaller, single level unit with 2 bedrooms and 2 poopers in the same building was recently leased with an asking price of $9,000. Your Mama imagines it's probably safe to assume Mister Law is forking out considerably more than that.

Property records show the six room doo-plex–or seven room doo-plex depending on how one counts–measures 3,504 square feet while listing information indicates it's around 3,498 square feet. Close enough for Your Mama not to get in a huff about. The elevator opens directly into the apartment's top floor which has dark Brazilian walnut floors, glistening winter white walls of hand-troweled Venetian plaster, gorgeous vaulted ceilings with exposed wood beams, original stained glass windows, and two, glass wrapped atria that shoot through the building and flood the interior spaces with indirect light.

These atria were an inspired architectural notion by FLAnk, the firm responsible for the former churches metamorphosis. Not only do they hustle light into dark interior corners they define the traffic patterns and divide the open spaces while still allowing for a visual unity. However, Your Mama is more than a little concerned with the atrium in the library which appears, according to the floor plan, to look directly into the apartment across the hall. Just the very idea that Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter could be quietly curled up on the delicious sofa–that may or may not be a Christian Liaigre design–sipping gin and tonics and reading all the latest tabs only to look up and see the neighbor–who happens to be Steven Van Zandt–giving us a wink and a nod from his library just scares the skin right off our ever ballooning body. And really, what's the point of that atrium if the curtains/shades must always be closed in order to gain a little privacy?

Anyoo, the central atrium separates the library at the front from the back area comprised of a combination living/dining room and a super sleek open plan Boffi brand kitchen that has Your Mama swooning with desire. The glossy snowy cabinetry and the white, white, white counter top is successfully toned down by the work island cloaked in a dee-voonly dark zebra wood and topped with a dark, possibly even chocolate brown, counter top of unknown material.

The entire back glass wall folds open and merges the interior space with the north facing, 575 square foot landscaped terrace that features a built in barbecue and a lovely view of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately for Mister Law, he's had a bit of trouble with gaggles of college gurls ogling him from their dorm rooms across the way while he works out on the terrace with his ladee trainer.

A floating chrome and glass staircase leads from the upper floor to the lower where the central space includes a powder pooper, laundry facilities and an intimate media room. At the rear, two bedrooms share a windowless pooper and the front contains the master bedroom comprised of a long hallway of custom fitted closets, a sufficiently sized bed chamber and a pooper that Your Mama estimates to be around 25' long.

Say what you will, children, about the day-core. It may not be the kind of contemporary that suits every person's decorative tastes and needs, but what's done here in this converted church is dee-vine and without question of the highest quality. In addition to the well executed architectural overhaul, every inch of the space has been thoughtfully did up and done over by someone who really knows what they are doing and paid for by someone willing to hand over upwards of thirteen grand for the luminary perfection that is Poul Henningsen's Artichoke lamp dangling gracefully above the dining room table. Your Mama would chop off our damn pinkie toe for one of those fixtures.

For what it's worth and for those who might care, the above mentioned Miss Miller recently listed her townhouse in London's posh Marylebone neighborhood for sale at £995,000 and as far as we know, when in London Mister Law still shacks up in the 4-floor, 5-bedroom townhouse in the Maida Vale neighborhood that he bought in late 2008 for a reported £3,500,000. That's $5,227,650 to all us Amereecanos at today's rates.

This is a very cool space that I spotted a while back when it was first revealed that Law was leasing it during his Hamlet run. It seemed like the perfect thing for a friend of mine who is looking for something about this size with useable outdoor spaces in this general price range. However, it has a few significant drawbacks. One is that these outdoor spaces are overlooked by an adjacent NYU girls dorm. Another is the general feel of the immediate neighborhood, half a block from the seediest stretches of Sixth Avenue, and the assorted low brow tourist haunts of the central Village. Also NYU students everywhere, which depending on your frame of mind/perspective could be either a good or bad thing. But for sure, noisy.

His rent has to be closer to $30,000 or more a month. If the place is valued at almost $7 million at $5,000 per million not including taxes and fees it should be in that ballpark.I would even go as high as $40,000 a month.

While I think the apartment is amazing and very well done, I could never live on that block and I suspect that is why it is still lingering on the market. That block is, in my honest opinion, horrible and is so close to the nasty that is 6th Ave. It's NYU-ville to the max, and I could just not ever imagine wanting to live there, not only to pay BIG bucks for an awesome piece of real estate there. That said, if it was in any other part of the Village (and if my lotto tickets finally brought lady luck to my door) I'd live there in a heartbeat.

Baby has it on good authority that the designer of the interiors of said pad is none other than the enigmatic Inson Dubois Wood. Run to see more samples of his work at the Inspired Designs showhouse (inspired by his muse Angelina Jolie) at 535 West End Ave. before the showhouse closes Sunday, December 13, 2009. Speaking of high end residences, if it is not already, 535 WEA boasting up to $4000/sq ft spaces should be on your radar.

Jude undoubtedly has good taste in homes - where can you find a space that has solid glass floors and stair, yet has the warmth of beautiful curtains and hand hewn floors? The use of natural light combined with the fabulous modern art and vintage collectible furniture is truly uplifting. This is the work of a master designer. Rumor has it this cool hunting pad got him back together with Siena.